A Campaign Worth Watching

Our Towns

Canton

August 04, 2005

Races for positions on a municipal board of finance tend to draw little attention. This year's race in Canton, however, could be an exception; one of the candidates is likely to be Green Party member Thomas J. Sevigny.

A well-known activist, Mr. Sevigny is vice president of Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion, which blocked the plan to build a Target store on Route 44.

He gained further recognition through three failed bids for state office. One bid earned him an endorsement from The Courant, which cited his thoughtful proposals for curbing sprawl by limiting residential development, imposing more regional cost sharing, reducing reliance on property taxes to fund education, and having the state shoulder a greater share of education costs.

In a recent article for The Courant, Mr. Sevigny lamented that, under the current system, local officials across Connecticut find themselves surrendering land to commercial development to reduce the property tax burden on homeowners.

Considering he is now running in his hometown, Mr. Sevigny should have little difficulty gathering the 29 signatures needed to gain the ballot. Should Mr. Sevigny's campaign propel him to the finance board, he would be the third Green Party member to win elective office in the state.

He would also have his work cut out for him.

Canton's 2005-06 budget was approved after two referendums. Finance board members at first proposed a spending plan that kept taxes level by dipping into the town's reserves and cutting $300,000 from education. The decision galvanized parents to force a referendum that ended in the spending plan's defeat. A revised budget, which increased school spending by $150,000, passed.

Should Mr. Sevigny run, voters will be able to count on an interesting campaign.